Harassed woman CISF employee dismissed for speaking to media

A woman constable of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) stationed at FACT in Kochi was dismissed on Monday for allegedly speaking to the media about harassment she faced from the force and senior officials.

The employee Usha M.R., with over 10 years of service, made news when CISF in October 2012 posted an order transferring her to Vishakhapatnam on the door of a hospital room where she had been admitted. CISF’s action had been reported by various print and visual media.

The woman and her family had then approached the High Court of Kerala against the transfer saying it had been ordered on flimsy grounds. The High Court stayed the transfer and allowed her to continue at her post.

Usha’s dismissal on Monday was on the grounds that she had spoken to the media regarding the force’s matters, and that she had faked illness to get admitted to the hospital. Sources in the force said Usha was being treated unfairly as she had resisted moves to get her transferred. Usha was punished eight times in the last few years, allegedly on flimsy grounds and without officials having sought her explanation. When she was posted at the Cochin Port in 2008, Usha had levelled accusations of harassment against a senior CISF official. The accusation had been investigated by a Deputy Inspector General of CISF and found to be true, but no action had been taken. An employee of the company said Usha was being harassed by the force ever since she had made the accusations.